The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles might be at opposite ends of the AL East standings, but there isn’t much separating them at all as they gear up for a weekend series that opens Friday at Camden Yards. First-place Boston (19-13 SU, 17-15 O/U) is just 3.5 games up on last-place Baltimore (15-16 SU, 11-20 O/U), and an Orioles sweep would shake things up considerably.
- Date/Time: May 7, 7:05 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
- TV Coverage: NESN, MASN
- Sportsbook Odds: Red Sox -164 | O/U 9 (Line History)
- Red Sox vs Orioles Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Red Sox opened the odds cycle at -164, but the odds have settled into the -150 range at the majority of sportsbooks. The total has dropped a half-run in most spots after Sportsbook at 9.
Starting Pitchers Analysis
Red Sox right-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0, 4.18 ERA) will look to get back on track after stumbling last time out, charged with four runs on eight hits in five difficult innings against the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez had an up-and-down outing the last time he faced the Orioles back on April 8, allowing three runs over five innings but racking up seven strikeouts in the process.
Orioles counterpart Matt Harvey (3-1, 4.06 ERA) has impressed in six starts this season, having limited opponents to a minuscule .252 on-base average so far. The former New York Mets ace has had his problems with the Red Sox in 2021, allowing six runs over 9.1 innings in his first two starts of the season April 3 and 8.
Boston News & Notes
The Red Sox might not be all the way back to their glory days, but no offense in the majors has been more prolific through the first 30 or so games of the season.
Boston comes in ranked first overall in runs scored (166), batting average (.267) and slugging percentage (.444), with veteran masher J.D. Martinez leading the way (.348, 10 HRs, 31 RBIs in 30 games).
Baltimore News & Notes
We might already have our Comeback Player of the Year. Orioles outfielder Trey Mancini has not only returned to action after a cancer diagnosis kept him out for the entire 2020 season, but he has been one of Baltimore’s most productive players.
Mancini has six home runs and a team-best 25 RBIs in 119 at-bats, and has driven in eight runs vs Boston this season.
Betting Pick: OVER 8.5 (-110)
Boston’s offense is a consistent threat to put up crooked numbers this season, while Rodriguez hasn’t looked sharp of late. We like this one to feature plenty of scoring.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- Boston is 15-5 in its last 20 games at Baltimore.
- The UNDER is 16-4 in the Orioles’ past 20 games.
- The OVER is 4-1 in Boston’s last 5 games.
